Power actuated locking mechanism for vehicle door lock striker plate assemblies



July 16, 1957 c. B. EATINGER 2,799,526

POWER ACTUATED LOCKING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLE DOOR LOCK STRIKER PLATE ASSEMBLIES Filed Feb. 20, 1956 Jinn em for UnitedStates Patent POWER ACTUATED LOCKING MECHANISM FOR IXEIIIIZISCLE DOOR LOCK STRIKER PLATE ASSEM- Cloyde B. Eatinger, Fort Dodge, Iowa, assignor of onehalf to Clarence Merrill McCarthy, Ames, Iowa Application February 20, 1956, Serial No. 566,524

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-34116) My invention has to do with door lock striker. plate assemblies, primarily designed for the strikeror keeper plate commonly used in conjunction with the door lock and latches on a vehicle or the like.

An object of my invention is to provide an improvement in striker plates to permit the doors of a vehicle to be power locked, when desired, and to prevent the doors from being opened by the usual manual manipulation of the present outside and inside door handles, when my improvement is in operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a power actuated mechanism to be installed to the usual striker plate now in common use on vehicles.

Still a further object of my invention is to have a striker plate power actuated and to allow for remote control of the power mechanism by placing the control away from the mechanism, to permit the driver of the vehicle to actuate the mechanism at will.

Another object of the invention is to provide a power actuated striker plate with a mechanism designed to cooperate with a lock bolt or a rotary cog wheel of a door lock or latch, operable to prevent said lock bolt or cog wheel of a door lock or latch from being manipulated by the usual manual controls of the outside and the inside door handles.

To carry out my invention, I employ a keeper device or striker plate having a power actuated mechanism installed in connection therewith. The power may be in the form of electricity, vacuum, suction, pressure or hydraulic, the preferred power being electricity, as shown in the drawings, but power from any of the above mentioned sources may be used, if desired. I employ a movable lock member mounted on a striker plate, which is power actuated, preferably by electricity, and when this lock member is moved to a position to engage a locking bolt of a vehicle door lock or latch, the locking bolt is prevented from being manipulated by actuation of either the outside or the inside door handles, until the power has been released.

Remote control of the movable lock member is accomplished by placing a control switch within easy reach of the operator of the vehicle so that the locking mechanism is controlled from the operators seat without requiring the operator to reach the rear doors of the vehicle. It will also be understood that more than one movable member may be operated from a single switch, when desired.

The simplicity and assembly of the movable member and the power mechanism contribute to the low cost of construction, and this assembly may be easily installed in the conventional striker plates when desired, or built into the striker plates at the factory.

Further objects, features, and advantages of my invention will appear from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, as seen from the outside ice of a vehicle, showing a conventional striker plate and lock assembly;

Fig. 2 illustrates a vehicle body portion showing the installation therewith of the striker plate and lock assembly of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the striker plate or keeper device;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the keeper device of Fig. 3 as seen looking toward the left in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the lock, illustrated similarly to Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the lock as seen looking toward the left in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the movable locking member of my invention; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the striker plate and lock assembly of Fig. 1 showing my invention in assembly relation therewith.

The conventional vehicle lock and keeper device shown in Fig. 1 includes a case 2 having a lever 3 pivotally secured thereto by a rivet 4. The lever 3 is adapted to be manipulated by an outside door handle 60 (Fig. 2). A second lever 5, pivotally secured to the case 2 by a rivet 6, has a fitting 8 secured to one end. The fitting 8 and a spring 23 are operatvely associated with an inside door handle (not shown). An arm 9, pivoted to the case 2 by a rivet 10, is biased by a spring 16 and has one end contacting a pivotal member 11 and the opposite end in contact with the lever 5. The member 11 is movably secured to the case 2 by a rivet 10, and is capable of being moved by a manual push button control (not shown) into blocking engagement with one end of the lever 3 to lock or unlock the look. A shaft 24 extended through the case 2 has an inside rotary cog wheel 48 secured on one end thereof and an outside rotary cog wheel 13 mounted on its opposite end. The rotary cog wheel 13 comprises a rotary locking or latch bolt.

An L-shaped member 22 has one end thereof capable of co-action with the inside rotary cog wheel 48, and the opposite end of the L-shaped member 22 is operatively engaged with the inside door handle through the lever 5, rivet 6, fitting 8 and spring 23. The one end of the member 22 has a stud (not shown) thereon which extends through the lever 3 to contact one end of a main spring 7, with the opposite end of the main spring 7 being secured around the rivet 4. A guide 14 is secured to the case 2 for guiding the lock into a striker plate, there being a stop 49 on the case 2 to limit the motion of the L-shaped member 22.

A striker plate or frame includes a body member I having a pair of keeper teeth 21 and a spring tensioned stabilizer 15 secured to the body member by a pin 18. Holes 17 in the body member 1 receive screws (not shown) for securing the body member to a vehicle in the usual manner. As above described, the lock and keeper device are of a usual construction.

An electro-magneti-c assembly, forming a part of my invention, is secured to the striker body member 1 by screws (not shown) received within a pair of holes 20 formed in the body member 1. This electro-magnetic assembly comprises a frame 37 for supporting a magnet coil 32 provided with a magnet or central iron core 31, with the magnet 31 being magnetized on energization of the coil, current to which is supplied through connections 38, 39, 40 and 42, 45 and 43. These connections are carried on a non-metallic plate 46 which is secured to the frame 37. The ends 44 and 36 of the frame 37 are up- 33, spring 34 and bolt 35. On energization of the coil 32 the armature 28 is movable to a position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8.

A locking member or pawl 25 (Fig. 7) of a generally curved shape is formed with an extension bar 5!) laterally extended in one direction therefrom, and a pair of spaced apart prongs 51 laterally extended in a direction opposite to the extension 50. The space 52 between the prongs 51 receives the free end of the armature 28 in what might be termed a lost motion connection. The locking member 25 is secured to the body member 1 by a rivet 26 extended through holes 26a and 21a, so that the locking member is pivotally supported on the rivet 26.

The electro-magnetic assembly is mounted on the body member 1 by bolts 27 such that the free end of the armature or working member 28 is located in the space 52 between the prongs 51. Thus on energization of the coil 32 the armature 28 is actuated to pivot the locking member 25 into locking engagement with one of the cogs or teeth of the rotary locking bolt 13, to hold the locking bolt 13 against movement to an unlatching position when the outside or the inside door handles are manipulated. This locked position of the bolt 13 is maintained until the coil 32 is de-energized.

While I have shown certain specific embodiments of my invention, I reserve the right to make changes without departing from the original intent of the invention, and shall be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a keeper device adapted to be fastened to a body structure for cooperative engagement with a multi-toothed rotary latch bolt carried on a door member, a plate structure including a body member having a rack portion engageable with said latch bolt to rotate said latch bolt in one direction in response to movement of said door member to a closed position, said latch bolt being rotatable in an opposite direction by said rack portion in response to a movement of said door to an open position, a locking pawl for said bolt pivotally supported on said body member for pivotal movement into and out of a locking position with said latch bolt, when said door member is in a closed position, and power actuated means on said body member for pivotally moving said locking pawl into a bolt locking position therefor.

2. In a keeper device adapted to be fastened to a body structure for cooperative engagement with a toothed rotary latch bolt carried on a door member, a frame structure including a body member provided With a pair of linearly spaced teeth engageable with said latch bolt on movement of said door member to a closed position, means for locking said latch bolt against rotation in said closed position of the door member including a locking member having a latch bolt engaging portion, means movably supporting said locking member on said body member for movement of said engaging portion into and out of engagement with said latch bolt, power actuated means on said body member including a Working member, means connecting one end of said working member with said locking member, and means movably supporting said working member on said power actuated means for movement of said one end thereof to move said locking member.

3. In a keeper device adapted to be fastened to a body structure for cooperative engagement with a toothed rotary latch bolt carried on a door member, a frame structure including a body member provided with a rack portion engageable with said latch bolt when said door member is moved to a closed position, a locking pawl for said bolt pivotally supported on said rack portion for pivotal movement adjacent one side thereof, a portion extended laterally from one side of said pawl for engaging said bolt, power actuated means mounted on said body member at the other side of said pawl and including a movable working member, and means connecting said working member with said pawl.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,262,435 Berg Apr. 9, 1918 2,629,622 Roethel Feb. 24, 1953 2,646,300 Roethel July 21, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,799,526 July 16, 1957 Cloyde B. Eatinger v It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the grant, lines 2 and 12, and in the heading to the printed specification, line 6, for "Clarence Merrill McCarthy", each occurrence, read Clarence Merrill McCarty Signed and sealed this 25th day of April 1961 (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

